TCU
Fresno State
Fresno State Escapes With 6-5 Win Over TCU Baseball
5/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FRESNO, Calif. (May 6) -- Fresno State's Mike Hernandez struck out Tom Bates with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to earn his first career save as the Bulldogs defeated TCU, 6-5 Saturday at Beiden Field.
A controversial call by third base umpire Rick Saxton in the eighth inning proved to be a huge part of the game. Mark Hamilton walked and Erick Macha singled to start the inning. Hamilton advanced to third on Macha's base hit, bringing Bates to the plate. Bates grounded into a double play, scoring Hamilton. But, Saxton ruled that Macha interfered with second baseman Tom Creighton's throw to first, which meant the run was taken off of the scoreboard and Hamilton was forced to return to third base. Shaun Wooley flew out to left field to end the inning. The controversial call was one of many in the entire series.
The Bulldogs scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Creighton's two-out double, increasing their lead to 6-3.
In the ninth, Brad Rogers and Jason Price delivered back to back singles, then advanced to third and second on Matt Srp's groundout. After Levi Groomer struck out, pinch hitter Jeff Reed walked, loading the bases for Hamilton, who was hit by the pitch, scoring pinch runner Marshall Wilson. Macha greeted reliever Nick Moran with a base hit, scoring Price and bringing Bates to the plate once again. Hernandez, who earned a win in relief on Thursday night, struck out Bates to end the game.
The Frogs battle back from a 5-1 deficit. Fresno scored once in the second, twice in the fifth and sixth innings. Brandon Gemoll homered in the fifth, driving in Anthony Acevedo. Creighton's triple in the sixth accounted for two runs. All six of the Bulldog runs were scored with two outs in an inning.
TCU's first three runs in the game scored on home runs. Bates hit a solo home run in the fourth and Groomer hit a two-run home run in the seventh. Macha led the Frogs with three hits, his fifth consecutive multi-hit game. In the series, Macha had eight hits in 14 at-bats.
Starting pitcher David Tombrella suffered the loss, dropping his record to 2-4. Tombrella allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks in six innings. Chad Durham allowed one run in 1.2 innings. Fresno State starter Zach Minor improved to 3-0. He allowed three runs, one earned in 6.2 innings. Smith, the closer for Fresno, allowed two runs in 2.0 innings. Hernandez retired the only batter he faced. The Frogs drop to 20-31 on the year. Fresno State, ranked 22nd by Baseball Weekly, improves to 37-15.
